Twenty-one years ago Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek Dingle formed Milestone Media and launched a series of unique and edgy comic books that placed African-American, Hispanic, Asian and female characters at the forefront of a new mythology. Under a unique distribution deal with DC Comics, series like Icon, Static, Hardware and Blood Syndicate found their way to comic book shops across the nation. Many felt that the limitations of color palette in comic books had been blown away. Others felt that these titles were quite simply some of the best comics to come out that year, regardless of color. Either way barriers had been broken, attitudes challenged and a new universe – The Dakota Universe – had found its way into the heart of comics.
And if you didn't know, now you know.
Twenty-one years later, times may have changed but the passion for the new mythology created by four young men has not.
The panel at this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego was produced by Reggie Hudlin (producer, Django Unchained) and hosted by Phil LaMaar (Static Shock, MAD TV) and featured Denys Cowan and Michael Davis. This anniversary celebration was different in that it wasn’t all about the past, but the present state of comic books, the practical application of one's craft and more than a few hints of the future of Milestone.
It was a lively panel that covered topics ranging from the influence of music in the creation of Milestone media to pitching one's ideas to Disney. Of the former, Denys Cowan said, “ Public Enemy’s Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black was about Black Superheroes and a lot of that attitude informed what we were doing.”
Regarding the creation of the Black Panther animated series, Reggie Hudlin said, “The fact that the animated series exists is a miracle—these were unique circumstances that will never happen again.”
When host Phil LaMaar posed the question of whether Milestone could be created today and if in fact there are black comic book universes out there, Michael Davis offered the following: “One of my pet peeves about comics and comics creators and fans of which I'm both the lack of interest in anything that doesn't come out of Marvel and DC when it comes to black people. There’s a company called Urban Ministries they are the biggest African-American media company on the planet, they're also 45 years old and they're a Christian organization.”
This quote fostered the idea that Milestone is not a thing of the past, nor is the idea of a comic book universe that reflects the diversity of our modern world something that’s too far off. In a world where there is a Black Captain America and a female Thor, it seems the spark that Milestone started sometime ago is still burning. But it’s still a spark, and not quite a fire.
21 years ago four young men decided to partner up with DC Comics to shake up what we think of as comic book universes. They created a movement, one that is still shaking up the hearts and minds of whoever comes across these special books. There are universes that exists out there for all tastes and hopefully sometime soon there will be the rebirth of cool.
The comeback of the new mythology… Milestone 2.0 is just a shot away.
– Joe James
Joe James is a writer-artist and formerly a creative associate of Milestone Media back when it was Dwayne, Denys, Michael, Derek, Matt, Noelle, Christine and the Accountant.
